Dry closet



I'. P. SMITH.

(No'Model.)

DRY cLosET.

Patented Sept. 22 `189 .Huf

m. nU`a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREI) P. SMITH, OF VATERFORD, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO OLIVERS. KENDALL, OF VVOROESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,901, dated September22, 1891.

Serial No. 356,883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED P. SMITH, of Waterford, in the county ofSaratoga and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Dry Closets; and I do hereby declare `that the followingis a full,V

clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in iowhich- Figure 1 represents avertical longitudinal section showing aseries of dry closets arranged side by side, as well as the vault andVentilating shaft or chimney thereofnvwith my invention applied thereto.Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken at the point indicated byline a in Fig l. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken at the pointindicated by line b in said Fig. 1. Fig. t is a similar view zo to Fig.2, except that it is shown upon an enlarged scale and in perspective tomore fully illustrate my improvements. All the following figures arealso upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 5`is a sectional perspective view ofpart of the adjustable hood or trough andperforated covered pipehereinafter described. Fig. G is a detached perspective view of theperforated pipe, its supply-tank and connections, and part of thecovering of said perfogo rated pipe; and Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 representvarious modifications in the construction, which will be hereinafterdescribed.

My invention relates to closets or privies in which the fecal excrementis deposited in a vault, and more particularly to that class .in whichall eXcrementitious matter may be disposed of by artificial evaporationand cremation.

It consists of placing within said vault, con- 4o lstructed of anysuitable incombustible material, a horizontal perforated plate or gratepartition, upon which is received the fecal matter, and under saidhorizontal partition an oil or gas pipe having suitable openings orperforations for discharging the oil or gas to produce, when ignited, acontinuous aine under the whole length of the horizontal partition,which flame may tact either directly with said excreinentitious 5omatter through the openings in the perforated plate or grating or withthe under side of said be brought in conpartition on which the depositsare received, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

To enable others to better understand the nature, purpose, andadvantages of my inven- 5 5 tion, I will now proceed to describe it morein detail.

In the drawings the parts marked A represent a series of closetsarranged side by side, as previously stated. B is the vault under 6oV`said closets, C a grated opening for admitting fresh air thereto, and Dthe Ventilating flue or chimney for discharging the foul or vitiated airand products of combustion therefrom, all of which are similar to otherclosets of this class, and consequently no claim is made thereto.

As my invention relates only to the mode of burning or cremating theexcrementitious mattei', the description will be confined prin- 7ocipally thereto. The main or essential feature consists in the use ofliquid or gaseous fuels and the appliances for burning them, the burnerthereof being extended under the whole length of the horizontal platewhich l7 5 receives the deposits and in close proximity thereto.

Following is a detailed description of said burning appliances: Ahorizontal partition E is arranged and supported in the vault B be- 8otween the walls B B at the usual distance below the closet-seats A',leaving a chamber or sub-vault B2 below the same. Said horizontalpartition may be of any suitable material and made solid or perforated,as de- 5 sired. A metal plate is preferably used, in which the space calong the middle is made solid to protect the burner F from soiling, andslotted, as Well as inclined downward from said center at each sidethereof, as go shown at c c', to allow the flame from said burner topass through freely and come in contact with the excreinent deposited onthe central portion of the plate. I do not limit myself thereto,however, as a fiat perforated plate, such as shown in Fig. 7, or anyother form may be used to effect substantially the saine result. Saidburner F is `arranged under and close to said partition E and consistsof a pipe d, which may be adapted to burn lroo oil by providing the samewith a series of small discharge-openings e along its whole length, orfor burning gas by providing' it with a series of discharge-nozzles f,similar to those used for illuminating purposes. Oil is preferably usedas fuel in said pipe d to produce the desired combustion, the pipe insuch c'ase being connected by a pipe CZ with a suitable oil-supply tankG, placed at some convenient pointabove the burning appliances. Thesupply from said tank may be regulated by means of a shut-off cock cl2.(See Fig. 6.) A covering of asbestus or other suitable material g may beplaced over the perforated pipe d to serve as a wicking, the same beingsecured thereon by winding a wire g'around it or by any other suitablemeans. Said covering not being essential to my invention, I reserve theright to use the same or not, as desired. The pipe (Z is preferablyprovided with a cap cl3, which maybe removed to clean the interiorthereof, and covering g may also be slipped off endwise by the removalof said cap to clean out the discharge-openings of the pipe whenrequired.

The burner F may be protected from soiling by means of a suitable hoodor inverted trough H, having bearings at the ends and arranged to turnon the pipe CZ, as is indicated in Fig. 7. When the closets are in use,said hood occupiesa position over pipe d, as shown 'by full lines insaid Fig. 7 5 but in the operation of burning it is swung under saidpipe, as indicated by dotted lines and full lines in the other figures,thus permitting the flame to come directly in contact with thehorizontal partition or through the openings in said partition with thedeposits thereon, as previously stated. Any suitable means may beemployed for turning the hood H, as aforesaid, and for holding it in itsadjusted position. Although said hood is designed mainly to protect theburner F from soiling, it may be utilized in connection with pipe CZ forburning the excrement by arranging said pipe in the bottom thereof andplacing loose asbestus, mineral wool, or other suitable material g2 overthe pipe, as shown in Fig. 8, to serve as a wicking and spread the iiameproduced by the burning oildischarged from the pipe, or used alone withthe loose material g2 by simply pouring oil into the trough and ignitingthe same to produce the combustion desired.

The products of combustion, it. will be understood, are drawn up theVentilating line or chimney D, as in other dry closets of this class,and during the burning process the closetseats and other wood-work abovethe burning appliances are protected by a fire-proof door I, hinged atI', which may be swung across the vault, as shown in Fig. 4, to make aclose tight fire-proof combustion -chamber underneath.

It will also be understood that prior to burning all or nearly allmoisture is removed from the excrement by evaporation butbeing in asimilar manner to other dry closets requires no description.

By means of my invention itis obvious that notonly is the cost of fuel,as well as the trouble and expense of keeping the burning appliancesalways in condition for use, very small, but by the use of liquid orgaseous fuels a high combustion may bequickly obtained,and the processof burning thereby correspondingly facilitated, thus rendering saidprocess expeditious and comparatively free from smoke and offensiveodors, and when completed the combustion may be quickly and whollystopped, consequently preventing any unnecessary loss of fuel.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to carry heat along under and inclose proximity to the horizontal partition on which the excrement isdeposited to dry the same, a smokefunnel from a stove or furnace havingbeen employed for this purpose. I therefore limit my invention to theuse of liquid and gaseous fuel.

I am also aware that a horizontal partition adapted to receive t-heexcrementitious deposits in a dry closet, a perforated supplypipe toconduct liquid fuel to a combustion-4 clamber, and a felt tube forfiltration purposes have been used prior to my inventionin otherapparatuses and devices, and I therefore make no claim independentlythereto, but conne my invention to the specific construction andarrangement herein set forth and claimed.

Having described said invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. An improved dry-closet system comprising the closets A, having thehinged covers A', a vault B under the same between the walls B and theventilating-ilueD, connected with said vault, the fire-proof hinged doorI, arranged to close the upper part of the vault from the lower portionthereof to produce a fire-proof combustion-chamber under the same, thehorizontal partition E, arranged in said combustion-chamberlongitudinally under the closet-seats, and the horizontal longitudinalpipe-burner F, arranged `inst under said horizontal partition and havingmeans for supplying the liquid or gaseous fuel thereto, so as to producewhen ignited a flame under the whole length of the partition of equalintensity at all points, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a dr -closet system, the burner F, arranged longitudinally underand in close proximity to the horizontal partition E, on which theexcrementitious deposits are received, and having means for producing aflame under the whole length of the partition in direct contacttherewith and said deposits, and a rotatable hood I-I, arranged to comeover the burner between the same and said partition when the closets arein use and to be swung down under the burner during the burning process,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

The combination,in a dry-closet system, of the horizontal partition E,arranged longi- ICO IIO

tndinally and at a proper distance below the E and the deposits thereonthroughout the series of closet-seats to receive the exorernenlengththereof, substantially as and for the 1o titous deposits, and thecombined trough or purpose set forth.

hood H, arranged longitudinally close under said horizontal partition E,said trough or hood FRED P' 'SMITH' being adapted to be turned and alsoto hold Vitnesses: a suitable Wieking and oil, whereby a anie A. A.BARKER,

may be applied directly against the partition C. F. VESSON,

